Who's Minding The Store?

from the category-management-takes-over dept

An interesting look at how "category management" is spreading to book stores from supermarkets and the Walmarts of the world. The idea is that one (or sometimes two) "category leaders" in the space (Coca-Cola for drinks, P&G for, well, lots of stuff) manage what inventory gets on the shelves in your store. The end result: the mass normalization of shopping in America. It may make sure that the products on your shelves sell more, but it takes away any individuality from your stores - and any reason why people would want to shop specifically at one particular store. What I'm wondering, is if this is actually a huge opportunity for online shopping. If Borders is eliminating more obscure titles because Harper Collins doesn't think they'll sell, suddenly the online stores will have even more variety when compared to brick-and-mortar book stores.